Sanitizers are used in a variety of applications, including in home use, medical facilities, or industrial applications. Sanitizers are useful for their antimicrobial properties, including the ability to remove microbes from surfaces. Such microbes include, for example, bacteria, yeasts, viruses, fungi, mold, and protozoa. These microorganisms contribute to human disease. Therefore, it is desirable to remove these microorganisms from surfaces.
Many microorganisms develop a tolerance for sanitizing formulations. For example, some microorganisms have become resistant to treatments, and are responsible for serious infections in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Such microorganisms are sometimes referred to as superbugs. These superbugs have developed resistance to standard cleaning procedures and/or resistance to many disinfectants (such as antibiotics).
A common means of removing microorganisms from a surface, such as hands, includes washing with soap. The use of soap is effective at removal of microorganisms, but requires large quantities of water to remove the soap from the surface being disinfected. Thus, in locations where water is limited or inaccessible, or where the use of water is impractical, the use of soap to disinfect a surface is undesirable or inconvenient. In addition, the frequent use of soap in the washing of hands can result in increased dryness of hands, causing discomfort and irritation.
Many sanitizing compositions contain alcohol. Alcohol is a known disinfectant that destroys microorganisms that are living on the surface of an object, such as on hands, instruments, or other surfaces. Alcohol diffuses through the bacterial cell membrane, denatures bacterial proteins, thereby destroying bacteria. The use of alcohol in disinfectants is convenient because alcohol rapidly evaporates, eliminating the use of water to remove the sanitizer from the surface or from the skin. However, alcohol-based sanitizers are difficult to clean when spilled in hospitals or in health care facility settings. Alcohol-based sanitizers also release undesirable fumes and odors that cause irritation. Furthermore, alcohol-based sanitizers can be the source of alcohol poisoning.